A4 Refereed article in a conference publication
Playful, Meaningful - or Both? A Review of the Current State of Digital Participatory Urban Planning Platforms; 
Authors: Fonseca Alves, Luma; Baer, Manuel F.; Laato, Samuli; Klonner, Carolin; Fagerholm, Nora
Editors: DSouza, Prajwal; Tang, Hairui; Xi, Nannan; Hamari, Juho
Conference name: GamiFIN Conference
Publisher: ACM
Publication year: 2026
Book title : GamiFIN '26 : Proceedings of the 10th Annual International GamiFIN Conference 2026
Article number: 25
First page : 1
Last page: 22
ISBN: 979-8-4007-2190-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3789624.3789645
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1145/3789624.3789645
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/523447590
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
As cities worldwide face unprecedented challenges including rapid urbanisation, climate change, and growing social inequities, digital platforms have emerged as critical environments for engaging citizens in participatory planning. Within such platforms, gamification approaches are adopted to increase engagement. However, no comprehensive assessment of these platforms exists. Through a scoping review of 46 platforms from academic and grey literature, we identify four categories: (1) location-based mobile apps for geospatial data collection, (2) web-based participatory mapping systems, (3) 3D and Virtual reality environments, and (4) AI-powered image generation systems. Our thematic analysis across six dimensions - (a) purpose in urban planning, (b) participation mode, (c) accessibility and reach, (d) location, (e) data dimensions, and (f) gamification features - reveals critical gaps: while feedback mechanisms appear almost universally, advanced gamification remains limited. In addition, many platforms fail to progress beyond prototypes and lack incentives for sustained participation and collecting community-informed data for emergent fields of urban planning, such as the integration of nature-based solutions (NBS). Technical requirements often contradict inclusivity goals, potentially excluding underrepresented populations. Based on these findings, we present 19 design guidelines addressing engagement sustainability, inclusive accessibility, balanced gamification implementation and support of community-based planning. This comprehensive framework informs developers, planners, and researchers in creating more effective gamified digital platforms for democratic and sustainable urban futures.
Keywords:
design guidelines, participatory design, Participatory platforms, scoping literature review
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |  |
Funding information in the publication:
M. F. Baer has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) under grant no. 230591; C. Klonner and N. Fagerholm have been funded through the Digital Waters (DIWA) Flagship, funded by the Research Council of Finland under the Finnish Flagship Programme (grant no. 359247); L.F. Alves has been funded by the DIWA Doctoral education pilot, as part of the Ministry of Education and Culture's Doctoral Education Pilot under Decision no VN/3137/2024-OKM-6, related to the DIWA flagship (grant no. 359247).
